The debut episode of Desus & Mero, Desus Nice and the Kid Mero’s new Showtime series, got off to a sparkling start, with the two hosts landing a high-profile guest, congresswoman (and Bronx native) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and accurately spoofing one of the most-nominated movies at this year’s Oscars. Green Book is up for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Original Screenplay, despite it being “Friday with racism,” as Desus described it. After playing the incredible clip of sports-talk radio god Mike Francesa calling Green Book“the best movie I saw this year,” Desus and Mero shared their spoof of the film, called The Greenest Book. (“The following film has been rated WG for White Guilt.”)

You know it’s good because the clip begins with the eternal movie cliché, “You know, we’re not so different, you and me.” Also, like Green Book, The Greenest Book is the story of a white man, a self-proclaimed “walking, talking calzone,” who had the courage to know a black person. It’s also the only Oscar movie to be denounced by “literally every black person” (“What is wrong with you people? Please leave us alone”) if only for the fried-chicken scene alone.

Watch The Greenest Book above, and the entire Showtime premiere below.

]]>https://uproxx.com/tv/desus-mero-green-book-parody/feed/0greenest-book.jpgPlaying Chewbacca Is A ‘Dream’ For This ‘Star Wars’ Actor, But It Sounds Like A Nightmarehttps://uproxx.com/hitfix/chewbacca-star-wars-episode-9-nightmare/
https://uproxx.com/hitfix/chewbacca-star-wars-episode-9-nightmare/#respondThu, 21 Feb 2019 18:50:27 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401749054

LUCASFILM

Peter Mayhew played Han Solo’s arm-ripping sidekick Chewbacca from the original Star Wars to 2015’s The Force Awakens, where he shared the role with Joonas Suotamo due to chronic knee and back pain. It’s a mentally and physically demanding performance, as Suotamo revealed in an Instagram post where he went through the steps of becoming the seven-foot-plus Wookiee.

“Playing Chewbacca is a dream. But sometimes there were days that were more demanding than others,” he wrote. “On interior sets there might not be any real airflow and the hairs would just trap all the heat to the fur and cause a slow temperature rise. While filming I would perform my bit and we would go again many times – usually this would take from an hour to 2 hours. On scenes requiring 3 hours I would sometimes need to start conserving my energy, which unfortunately meant having to reserve some of my jokes for after filming.”

Suotamo took over for Mayhew entirely for The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well as the upcoming Episode IX (meaning he never had to wear this rejected prototype mask). Speaking of that still-untitled movie: Disney film chief Alan Horn was recently asked whether Episode IX would get Star Wars “back on track,” following Solo‘s disappointing box office total. “I have not seen a cut of it yet, but I watch dailies every weekend and send [director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy] a note every weekend,” he replied. “It’s a big deal, and it’s going to be terrific.” As for what the next Star Wars movie will be following Episode IX, Horn said, “It’s all in discussion.” Disney hasoptions.

It feels impossible, but today wrapped photography on Episode IX. There is no adequate way to thank this truly magical crew and cast. I’m forever indebted to you all. pic.twitter.com/138AprtFuZ

The highest-grossing film of 2019 so far is Glass with $105 million. That’s only counting the domestic box office, though. In China, a movie has already made $600 million… in two weeks. The Wandering Earth is an unprecedented hit — the country’s “first full-scale interstellar spectacular” will likely have a bigger “single-territory total than anything this year aside from the next Avengers and Star Wars.” It’s only playing in a limited number of theaters in the United States, however, which is why Netflix acquired the international streaming rights:

Netflix operates globally, but not in China, where local regulations have barred its entry. It was able to license some of its content in the Middle Kingdom through an arrangement with local streaming service iQIYI, but that deal has expired. Netflix is also slowly ramping up its roster of Mandarin-language content through production of original series and through acquisitions.

“With its high-quality production and story-telling, we believe that The Wandering Earth will be loved by sci-fi fans around the world,” said Jerry Zhang, Netflix’s manager of content acquisition. Okay, but are there any birds and/or boxes? The Wandering Earth — which has a bonkers premise of astronauts moving the Earth to another solar system after the sun burns out — does not have a Netflix premiere date yet, but when it’s out, except to see it all over the home page. For, like, a day before Netflix moves onto The Kissing Booth 2.

In The Simpsons‘ loose parody of The Departed, naturally called “The Debarted,” the episode ends the same way as the movie, with a rat walking across the screen… except then Ralph Wiggum pops out of a trash can and notes, “The rat symbolizes obviousness.” Speaking of: it was obviously only a matter of a time before the Kickstarter to edit that infamous rodent out of Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning film was fully funded; the goal was $4,000, and it already has $4,506 from 121 backers (with 21 days left to go!).

It’s always bothered me that a movie as good as The Departed has such a cheesy ending, and I recently realized it could be fixed by digitally erasing the rat from the last shot. But digital effects are not cheap, which is why I’m here on Kickstarter trying to raise $4,000 dollars. $4,000 dollars may sound like a lot of money, so let me break down the costs for each of the nine steps in this process. (Via)

You can read all nine steps and donate money (which you didn’t earn doing “odd jobs” for the mob, wink), or you can watch the rat-free scene on Twitter… for free! “Fun fact: the view out the window was digitally inserted in the film, which made tracking the shot in order to remove the rat more difficult than you’d expect because the original motion matching… wasn’t quite perfect,” editor Mark LaCroix explained. (The guy behind the Kickstarter called the Twitter edit “disrespectful to Mr. Scorsese’s legacy” because it’s not on 35mm film.)

Bohemian Rhapsody made over $800 million at the worldwide box office and was nominated for five Oscars, so expect a run of music biopics (which Dewey Cox momentarily killed) in the coming years, beginning with Rocketman. There’s one big difference between that film and Bohemian, however, besides one covering Freddie Mercury and the other Elton John: Rocketman is presenting itself as a “musical fantasy,” not a straight-forward biography. Think Bohemian Rhapsody meets Across the Universe, with bonus Donald Duck.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Rocketman is an epic musical fantasy about the incredible human story of Elton John’s breakthrough years. The film follows the fantastical journey of transformation from shy piano prodigy Reginald Dwight into international superstar Elton John. This inspirational story – set to Elton John’s most beloved songs and performed by star Taron Egerton – tells the universally relatable story of how a small-town boy became one of the most iconic figures in pop culture. Rocketman also stars Jamie Bell as Elton’s longtime lyricist and writing partner Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as Elton’s first manager, John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton’s mother Sheila Farebrother.

Between Robb Stark in this movie and Ramsay Bolton in The Dirt, we’re living in the golden era of Game of Thrones actors in music-based movies. Rocketman opens on May 31.

Before Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson flexed his arm so hard that his cast exploded, Hulk Hogan was probably the world’s most famous wrestler-turned-actor. Hogan, real name Terry Gene Bollea, starred in Suburban Commando, Mr. Nanny, 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, and of course, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, as “himself.” Was he good in any of those roles? Not really, but he had charisma, brother, and now the most charismatic member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will don the bandana and sunglasses in a new biopic.

Chris Hemsworth has signed up to play Hogan in a movie directed by Todd Phillips (Old School, The Hangover, Joker). According to the Hollywood Reporter, “The biopic will not delve into [Hogan’s recent years] or attempt to encompass an entire life. Instead sources say it will focus on the Hogan’s rise and is described as an origin story of the Hulkster and Hulkamania.”

The deal, which took months to put together, will include life rights with Bollea acting as a consultant on the movie as well as executive producer… Deals for the Hogan project are in the midst of closing with Netflix. (Via)

Hemsworth already has familiarity with (a) Hulk, so it’s a natural fit.

A few years ago, Uproxx ranked the Girl Scout cookies from worst to best, and put Samoas number two. That is insane. Samoas are a bottom-five cookie; in no sane universe should they be behind Thin Mints, which [checks when post was published] actually explains a lot. There’s only one way to improve Samoas: slap Jason Momoa’s handsome face on the box. That’s what one Girl Scout/genius did, and now the cookies are flying off the proverbial shelf:

Charlotte Holmberg is a Top Cookie CEO for the Girl Scouts. Charlotte’s mother saw the picture on Facebook, which features a shirtless picture of Momoa. As a marketing professional, she knows a thing or two about the business, so her and Charlotte got to work printing out pictures and gluing them on dozens of boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

Top Cookie CEO is my new dream job. Anyway, ever since Charlotte and her mom made the “Momoas,” the boxes are a hot commodity (emphasis on the hot) in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. “The moms are getting really excited and they’re saying that they need them,” Charlotte told Denver’s 9News. “The girls will wanna buy some because he’s on the front. And the boys will also wanna buy some because he’s like, he might be like they’re favorite character.”

One of the reasons why James Wan’s Aquaman made over one billon dollars at the box office (it’s the highest-grossing DC movie ever) is because women came out in droves to see it. In its first five days of release, “moms turned out in greater numbers than dads, 56 percent to 44 percent, and enjoyed Aquaman more, 91 percent to 85 percent,” according to Deadline. “Women also graded Aquaman with an A- CinemaScore, a number that was equal to men.” Men, women, Girl Scouts — everyone loves Momoa. Especially when he’s shirtless.

It might be old fashioned, but it’s a gosh-darn effective way of preventing spoilers. Very little is known about Amazon’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series, and there’s a good reason for that: the writers are currently “working under lock and key,” according to Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke.

“They’re already generating really exciting material,” she told the Hollywood Reporter. “They’re down in Santa Monica. You have to go through such clearance, and they have all their windows taped closed. And there’s a security guard that sits outside, and you have to have a fingerprint to get in there, because their whole board is up on a thing of the whole season.”

Salke also explained how Amazon is wooing the Tolkiens (the author died in 1973), and how the Tolkiens are impressing Amazon. “We get behind a franchise in a major way. The Tolkiens are coming to New York, all those estate holders. The older ladies, who are now, I think, in their 80s and 90s,” she said. “His daughters and the grandchildren, they’re coming to New York, and Jeff Bezos, me, Jeff Blackburn, a team of us are going and they’ve invited us to a dinner and see [some] creative work that they haven’t shown the world yet.”

I can think of one billion reasons why Amazon wants this relationship to work out (and why there’s a room of dehydrated writers living off Whole Foods chips).

Bonnie and Clyde is one of the greatest films of the 1960s, winning two Oscars (and placing in the top-50 of AFI’s prestigious 100 Years…100 Movies list). But instead of following Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, what if we kept up with… the men who tracked down Bonnie and Clyde? It’s a less sexy premise, but at least the cast for Netflix’sThe Highwaymen looks good. Based on an “untold true story,” Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson play two former Texas Rangers, who are brought out of retirement for — you guessed it — one. last. job. If you prefer law enforcement over anti-heroes, The Highwaymen is the movie for you.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

From director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), The Highwaymen follows the untold true story of the legendary lawmen who brought down Bonnie and Clyde. When the full force of the FBI and the latest forensic technology aren’t enough to capture the nation’s most notorious criminals, two former Texas Rangers (Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson) must rely on their gut instincts and old school skills to get the job done. The Highwaymen also stars Kathy Bates, John Carroll Lynch, and Kim Dickens.

The Walking Dead has sprinkled references to fellow AMC series Breaking Bad throughout its nine-season run, from Glenn driving a red Dodge Challenger (the same car as Walter White) to Merle Dixon’s stash containing Blue Sky. This past Sunday’s episode, “Omega,” adds another one to the list. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn how Alpha (Oscar winner Samantha Morton) went from a caring mother to Lydia to the leader of the human-zombie plague Whisperers. In one scene, she calms her daughter with a lullaby, “Lydia the Tattooed Lady,” a song that should sound familiar to sharp-eared Breaking Bad viewers.

“Lydia,” which was originally recorded by Groucho Marx for the Marx Brothers movie At the Circus, is the ringtone that Todd picked for meth supplier Lydia Rodarte-Quale; it plays right before Walt informs Lydia that he poisoned her.

The lyrics go to:

Oh Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia?
Lydia, the Tattooed Lady
She has eyes that folks adore so
And a torso even more so

“Lydia the Tattooed Lady” has appeared in multiple movies and shows (outside of the aforementioned At the Circus), including The Fisher King and The Kids in the Hall, but considering the history between The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad, it was probably an intentional nod to Walt, Todd, and Lydia. Also, as the Hollywood Reporter notes, “Breaking Bad charted a meek chemistry teacher’s transformation into a ruthless criminal overlord; “Omega” similarly follows a frightened mother who evolves into the stone-cold killer known as Alpha.” (Both shows are getting movies, too.) The song is also incessantly catchy, to an annoying degree, so maybe keep it away from Daryl.

Before the second half of season nine premiered, The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus called it “our best season since season one.” That’s high praise (especially since Daryl wasn’t introduced until episode three), but to his point, the show has been much improved since finally moving on from Negan to the Whisperers, the “most formidable group we’ve come across.”The Walking Dead, which was recently renewed for season 10 by AMC, will want to end on a high note, something that showrunner Angela Kang is keeping in mind.

“It’s kind of just amazing that we’re going into the 10th season,” she told INSIDER. “It’s certainly a milestone that most people never get to cross and we’re so grateful to the fans around the world that have been on that journey with us. I’m approaching it as I’ve got to make a great 10th season. I can’t assume anything. It’s a thing that writers certainly talk about a lot. You can fall into a trap planning ahead and saving the great material for later. We always have to approach it as… we got to put the good material in now.” More:

“Even if there is five more years or 10 more years or whatever, we have to make it cool in this year and now [not only] for our sake, but definitely for the sake of the fans and so that’s been the approach. I’m really excited about the work that we’re doing and just grateful to have been on this ride.”

Even with declining ratings, The Walking Dead is still absurdly popular, and AMC presumably wants to keep their flagship series around for years to come. But it’s an interesting admission from Kang that she “can’t assume” the show has another 10 years left (no matter what the network CEO has said). What’s that expression? Live each day like it’s your last? No. Plan every season like it’s the show’s last, because you never know when the zombie apocalypse will arrive.

]]>https://uproxx.com/hitfix/walking-dead-ending-season-10/feed/0twdA Major ‘Game Of Thrones’ Character Might Be Left Out Of The Season 8 Premierehttps://uproxx.com/hitfix/game-of-thrones-season-8-premiere-night-king/
https://uproxx.com/hitfix/game-of-thrones-season-8-premiere-night-king/#respondTue, 19 Feb 2019 17:38:55 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401745478

HBO

[Potential spoilers for Game of Thrones season eight]

With only six episodes left, Game of Thrones can’t spend precious minutes on, say, a side adventure featuring Tormund and Brienne (even if I would watch nine seasons of that). So it’s a little surprising that one of the show’s most important characters will supposedly not appear in the season eight premiere.

A few days ago, a listing appeared on the official HBO website for the premiere episode, showing the runtime (60 minutes) and cast. It’s mostly the names you’d expect — Peter Dinklage (Tyrion), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime), etc. — but there are some curious inclusions (including Tobias Menzies as Edmure Tully and Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn, both of whom we haven’t seen since season six) and one interesting omission.

That would be Vladimir Furdik, who plays the Night King. Considering where season seven left off, with the White Walkers finally invading the Seven Kingdoms, you’d think Viserion’s new owner would have a major role in the premiere. Either HBO is keeping his appearance as a surprise, or he’ll show up in episode two (or maybe episode three, during the most “sustained action sequence ever made for television or film”). We’ll find out on April 14, when Thrones returns. Until then, fans of the show can, uh, Bleed for the Throne.

HBO is partnering with the Red Cross for “the largest blood donation promotional effort by an entertainment company in American Red Cross history, with six days of coordinated giving from fans across the entire country.” Those who donate will receive a “Bleed for the Throne” t-shirt, while supplies last. The donation lasts from March 7–12 (and March 7-9 for SXSW attendees).

If you haven’t read Mötley Crüe’s autobiography The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band, please rectify that immediately. Here’s an excerpt: “I paid for the girls, went back to my room, and passed out. If anyone knocked on the door that night, I didn’t hear it. Or maybe I did hear it, let them in, and got spanked by a fat Korean. I can’t really remember. When I woke up the next afternoon, I threw up, shot up the last of my cocaine stash, put on my leather pants, and met Doc and Mr Udo in the lobby.” It’s exactly the kind of book you’d expect from the band behind “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Dr. Feelgood.”

But will Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, and Vince Neil’s debauchery translate into a feature-length film? We’ll find out soon enough when The Dirt debuts on Netflix. “I had managed the Scorpions, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, Kiss,” band manager Doc McGhee says in the trailer above, “but I had never been through what Mötley cure put me through.” Hopefully The Dirt lives up to that promise, and the band’s seedy reputation. Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Based on Mötley Crüe’s 2001 best-selling autobiography, The Dirt is an unflinching and uncensored story about sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll, fame, and the high price of excess. Director Jeff Tremaine (JACKASS co-creator, BAD GRANDPA) shows us just how Nikki Sixx (Douglas Booth), Mick Mars (Iwan Rheon), Tommy Lee (Colson Baker), and Vince Neil (Daniel Webber) took Mötley Crüe from the Sunset Strip to the world stage, and what it meant to become the world’s most notorious rock band.

(Yup, Mick is played by Ramsay from Game of Thrones. Interesting choice!)

Gwyneth Paltrow, who’s been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the beginning, is officially done playing Pepper Potts, Tony Stark’s secretary-turned-fiancée. The actress will retire the character following the upcoming Avengers: Endgame, she revealed in an interview with Variety. “I’m a bit old to be in a suit and all that at this point,” the Oscar winner (Shakespeare in Love) said. “I feel very lucky that I did it, because I actually got talked into it. I was friend with [Iron Man director] Jon Favreau. It was such a wonderful experience making the first Iron Man and then to watch how important it has become to fans.”

Paltrow, who joined the MCU for 2008’s Iron Man and appeared in six subsequent films (Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame), said that she feels “honored to be a part of something that people are so passionate about” and is open for a flashback cameo, if asked. “Of course, if they said, ‘Can you come back for a day?,’ I will always be there if they need me,” she stated.

One of the biggest complaints about Star Wars: The Last Jedi (of which there were many — too many!) is that the main characters spent too much time apart. Rey and Finn, who we met and fell in love with in The Force Awakens, didn’t reunite until the final minutes of the film, and neither did Finn and Poe. So, it’s only fitting that J.J. Abrams announced that photography on Episode IX has wrapped with a photo of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac hugging.

Awwwwww.

“It feels impossible, but today wrapped photography on Episode IX. There is no adequate way to thank this truly magical crew and cast. I’m forever indebted to you all,” tweeted Abrams, which is a weird title for a movie, but I’ll allow it.

Of course, there’s still lots for Abrams and hundreds of others left to do before Episode IX comes out, including special effects, ADR, the score, etc. But the final day of shooting for the third Star Wars trilogy is an important milestone, and you can see how much it means to Isaac, who appears to be crying. As for why Ridley turned away from the camera, I’m sure there’s already a thousand fan theories that she has a scar on her face, like Kylo Ren, or notice how she’s looking at the sun? REY SKYWALKER CONFIRMED (please, no).

After being left out of Toy Story 3, Bo Peep will have a major role in Toy Story 4 (she’s even got the action-ready poster to prove it). “I have a big part, I’m thrilled,” actress Annie Potts, who voices Bo Peep, said last year. “Most of (my work) is with [Tom Hanks]. I’ve never done any animation before where you got to work with the other actors… But because of the nature of what we’re doing, we’ve been having Tom and me together. That’s fun! That is really fun!” Naturally, because Potts and Hanks (good name for a detective agency) spent so much time recording together, Bo Peep and Woody are front-and-center in the clip from Toy Story 4 that premiered on Friday’s Good Morning America.

In the sneak peek above, Bo directs her sheep, Billy, Goat, and Gruff (“They have names?” “You never asked”), along with Jessie, Slinky, Barbies, and Buzz, to assist in a rescue mission. (Some weird Bulbasaur-looking toy is involved, too.) It’s a big change from how the character is usually presented, as Woody’s flirty romantic interest, or in the words of Potts, “Bo’s got some ‘tude now.”

Here’s more on the Pixar film.

Woody has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s beloved new craft-project-turned-toy, Forky, declares himself as “trash” and not a toy, Woody takes it upon himself to show Forky why he should embrace being a toy. But when Bonnie takes the whole gang on her family’s road trip excursion, Woody ends up on an unexpected detour that includes a reunion with his long-lost friend Bo Peep. After years of being on her own, Bo’s adventurous spirit and life on the road belie her delicate porcelain exterior. As Woody and Bo realize they’re worlds apart when it comes to life as a toy, they soon come to find that’s the least of their worries.

The one-time face of the the DC Extended Universe is finished playing Batman, a move that was assumed after the Argo star tweeted, “Excited for #TheBatman in Summer 2021 and to see @MattReevesLA vision come to life,” and confirmed following the actor’s appearance on Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.

“I tried to direct a version of it and worked with a really good screenwriter but just couldn’t come up with a version — I couldn’t crack it and so I thought it’s time for someone else to take a shot at it,” Affleck explained to Kimmel. “They got some really good people, so I’m excited.” The good people include Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes), who replaced Affleck as the director of The Batman, and the shiny, newer stars in the DCEU: Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.

For anyone who’s still upset at Jimmy Fallon for the hair tousle seen ’round the world (or for breaking in countless SNL sketches, or starring in Fever Pitch, or the “Idiot Boyfriend” music video, or “Ew”), you might enjoy the clip above. Steve Martin and Martin Short, henceforth referred to as Steve Martin Short, dropped by Thursday’s Tonight Show to promote their “Now You See Them, Soon You Won’t” live tour and roast the heck out of Fallon. Highlights include:

-“This is the greatest show on television, because there is no host in late night that pretends to care the way you do.”

-“No one captures phoniness the way you do.”

-“When I’m home watching the show, I think, wow, for someone who does meth, your teeth look great.”

-“You proved that tall, handsome white men can make it in show business.”

-“Do you smell Febreze?” “No, that’s Jimmy’s new fragrance.”

-“I think it’s so brave of you, five years in, and to decide suddenly to abandon the comedy format.”

Steve Martin Short also broke out a Nancy Pelosi-inspired sarcastic clap and gave Fallon (who, it’s worth noting, was a good sport the entire time) a gift: a montage of their favorite bits from five years of his hosting The Tonight Show.

The most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie, 2017’s Dead Men Tell No Tales, was deemed a box office disappointment, but it still made nearly $800 million worldwide. Disney isn’t ready to let a cash (sea)cow float away, which is why the studio is working on a reboot, sans Johnny Depp. Or it was, until hitting a major snag: writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who wrote the screenplays for Deadpool and Deadpool 2, have departed the project:

Disney insiders say Reese and Wernick are no longer working on a sixth installment in the swashbuckler series that has grossed $4.5 billion in worldwide box office and $2.5 billion more in global merchandise since it first set sail in 2003… Insiders are divided about what happens next. Some say a search is already underway for replacement options, others say the once-proud flagship of Disney’s live-action fleet may be headed to dry-dock for good. (Via)

It’s unclear how Reese and Wernick went from “[making] Pirates punk rock again,” in the words of Disney film production chief Sean Bailey, to setting sail for less choppy waters (ocean puns!), but no matter what happened, it’s not promising news for the reboot. On the bright side, at least Disney (which isn’t exactly lacking in successful franchises) saved a lot of money on scarves.

]]>https://uproxx.com/movies/pirates-movie-deadpool-writers-exit/feed/2piratescjs-jpg.jpegDane Cook Has Apologized For Auditioning To Play One Of Marvel’s Most Popular Superheroeshttps://uproxx.com/hitfix/dane-cook-captain-america-marvel/
https://uproxx.com/hitfix/dane-cook-captain-america-marvel/#commentsThu, 14 Feb 2019 19:57:57 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401739774

Getty Image

Dane Cook, your freshman year roommate’s favorite comedian, is about to embark on his first major stand-up tour in six years. His career isn’t quite what it was when he was selling out Madison Square Garden (the Hollywood Reporter called him at one time, “the most successful stand-up on the planet”) and booking lead roles in comedies with Jessicas Simpson and Alba, but Cook refuses to call it a comeback — he prefers “a trajectory.” And part of his trajectory includes apologizing for auditioning to play Captain America.

Marvel was apparently furious that Cook brought up the audition to his millions of followers, and he wanted to make amends, as he explains to the Hollywood Reporter in a new profile.

“Oh, I got in so much trouble. I was feeling really excited, but it was supposed to be a quiet, private thing. I wrote an apology letter to the casting director because they were upset.”

Cook also expressed regret for his ill-conceived Aurora shooting joke (“When they put it on CNN and said, ‘This is outrageous,’ then I could look at it too and say, ‘Oh, of course. Yeah, this isn’t funny'”), but he apologize for dating someone who’s 26 years his junior. “We’re not afraid to goof on [that perception],” Cook said about the age difference with his girlfriend, Kelsi Taylor. “But I have never had somebody in my life who is so kind and caring. I hope it goes the distance.” So, your partner is three decades younger than you…

Killing Eve was THE breakout hit of 2018, arriving with little fanfare but leaving with record ratings, two Emmy nominations, one Golden Globe win, and a slot on our list of the best shows of the year (prestigious!). Can the BBC America series keep the momentum going, after creator (and Fleabag mastermind) Phoebe Waller-Bridge handed the creative reigns over to Emerald Fennell?

[takes one look at Villanelle’s outfit]

BBC AMERICA

Yes, yes it can.

Season two of Killing Eve picks up 30 seconds after the events of the season one finale, when Eve stabbed Villanelle. “Villanelle has disappeared and Eve is left reeling, having no idea if the woman she stabbed is alive or dead,” a press release from AMC Networks reads (the show will air on both BBC America and AMC this year, to reach more American eyeballs). “With both of them in deep trouble, Eve has to find Villanelle before someone else does…but unfortunately, she’s not the only person looking for her.” Of course, we, the viewer, know that Villanelle is alive (again: see the pajama photo), but the two of them don’t reconnect in the trailer above. But we do get whatever is happening here!

BBC AMERICA

Killing Eve returns for an “even darker” season on April 7. Can’t wait!

]]>https://uproxx.com/tv/killing-eve-season-2-teaser-trailer/feed/0killing-eve.jpgThe World’s Most Popular Movie Right Now Is Bigger Than Any Marvel Moviehttps://uproxx.com/movies/wandering-earth-china-marvel-star-wars/
https://uproxx.com/movies/wandering-earth-china-marvel-star-wars/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 16:21:30 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401739033

China Film Group Corporation

During its first week of release, Avengers: Infinity War made $338 million at the domestic box office. That’s the second highest seven-day total of all-time, behind only The Force Awakens ($390 million) but ahead of The Last Jedi and Jurassic World ($296 million) and Black Panther ($291 million). So, for a movie to make over $300 million in a week, in a single territory (not the worldwide gross), it has to be a monster hit. China has one of those right now.

Wandering Earth is probably an unfamiliar title to western audiences, but the film, dubbed “China’s first full-scale interstellar spectacular,” made $349 million across its first seven days of release. Just in China (where it competed against SEVEN new films)! That’s an even bigger haul than Infinity War (and The Dark Knight, and The Avengers, and Harry Potter, and…) in the United States:

If Wandering Earth, which is a $50 million-budgeted sci-fi drama concerning Earth having to build rocket thrusters to essentially launch itself out of the solar system after the Sun expands and threatens to scorch the planet (it makes sense in the movie, honest), is as leggy as Detective Chinatown 2 [which made $541 million last year] from here on out (1.6x its seven-day gross), it’ll end its run with a still-dynamite $558 million Chinese total. At a glance, I’d argue that would be a bigger single-territory total than anything this year aside from the next Avengers and the next Star Wars.

The Wandering Earth is based on a short story from Hugo Award-winning author Liu Cixin, who crediited the film’s success to China “experiencing rapid modernization, which allows fertile soil for scientific literature and films to grow.”

In 2017, before The Last Jedi became either the best or worst thing to ever happen to nerd culture (depending on your certain-point-of-view), Lucasfilm announced that writer and director Rian Johnson is spearheading an all-new Star Wars trilogy, one that “will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored” (i.e. no Skywalkers). We haven’t heard much about the trilogy since then, not with so much of the attention paid on Solo‘s disappointing box office gross and the upcoming Episode IX, but a recent report claimed that Johnson would be stepping away from the three films to focus on other projects. Of course, since this report came from a website called “SuperBroMovies,” it was total bunk.

Johnson said as much when asked about the rumor on Twitter, writing, “No it isn’t true, I’m still working on the trilogy. With all due respect to the movie bros, who I’m sure are lovely kind bros with good fraternal intentions.”

No it isn’t true, I’m still working on the trilogy. With all due respect to the movie bros, who I’m sure are lovely kind bros with good fraternal intentions.

Who could have started and spread such easily-debunked gossip? My sources tell me it was either Han Brolo, C-3PBro, or Lanbro Calrissian (I admit that last one is a stretch, but so is believing that Johnson would willingly depart the Star Wars universe, after all the garbage he’s been put through).

In another reality, Will Smith went from Bad Boys to Independence Day to Men in Black to Enemy of the State to The Matrix, an all-time run of box office success. But rather than get his “whoa” on, he instead fought a robot spider in Wild Wild West, and The Matrix became a phenomenon (and one of the most influential movies of the 1990s) without him, making over $460 million and spawning two sequels. Smith has said that he turned down the role of Neo, which went to Keanu Reeves, because “The Matrix is a difficult concept to pitch [and in] the pitch, I just didn’t see it,” but he expanded on his decision in a video posted to YouTube titled, fittingly, “Why I Turned Down The Matrix.”

Following Independence Day, Smith initially turned down Men in Black because he didn’t want to be the “alien movie guy.” He changed his mind, obviously, but fast forward a few months, and he was offered another sci-fi-heavy film: The Matrix. Smith acknowledged that the Wachowskis are “geniuses,” but there’s a “fine line in a pitch meeting between genius and what I experienced in the meeting.” And what did Smith experience? “So, dude, we’re thinking like, imagine you’re in a fight and then you, like, jump. Imagine if you could stop jumping in the middle of the jump. But then, people could see around you…”

It goes on like that. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight (and impressive special-effects), we know that what the Wachowskis were describing turned out to be an iconic scene, but you can’t fault Smith for passing. Which brings us to:

“I’m not proud of it,” Smith said about Wild Wild West > The Matrix, but there is a happy ending: John Wick might not exist in a world without Reeves as Neo, Wachowskis went on to make the enjoyably batty Jupiter Ascending, and Smith didn’t have to take part in The Matrix Reloaded‘s orgy scene.

The cave rave/orgy scene in THE MATRIX RELOADED doesn’t get enough credit for making an entire rabid fanbase cry out “Oh no” all at once

There are numerous ways to watch (or re-watch for an eighth time) Breaking Bad: AMC, iTunes, old-fashioned DVDs. But I imagine the most popular way is on Netflix, where five seasons of the two-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Drama Series are available to be viewed at any time. (Hopefully not in a drug haze, though.) So it’s only fitting that the shrouded-in-secrecy Breaking Bad movie will reportedly be released on Netflix, then AMC, where the show aired.

Deadline reports that “that the two networks may have their roles reversed, with Netflix taking first window and AMC second.” Back in 2013, creator Vince Gilligan thanked the streamer for keeping “us on the air” during an acceptance speech at the Emmys. “Not only are we standing up here [with the Emmy], I don’t think our show would have even lasted beyond season two,” he said. “It’s a new era in television, and we’ve been very fortunate to reap the benefits.”

Netflix and AMC have yet to comment on the report.

Little is known about the project, but according to Deadline, “the script is being shot as a feature, though it has not been determined yet how it will air, as a film or cut into episodes.” But we do know it’s shooting in “familiar locations” around Albuquerque, and there’s a chance original cast members Aaron Paul (who the film is reportedly based around), Bryan Cranston, Jonathan Banks, Jesse Plemons, and Krysten Ritter, among others, may show up. (UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporterconfirmed that the movie “will be a sequel revolving around Paul, who will reprise his Emmy-winning role as Jesse Pinkman.”)

A decent chunk of people who saw Happy Death Day probably don’t remember who the killer was — there’s a reason “Tree,” played by the wonderful Jessica Rothe, provides a recap in the trailer for Happy Death Day 2U — but they do remember the killer’s mask. The baby face is no Ghostface from Scream (not until Scary Movie 6 comes out, at least), but it’s certainly a memorable, and memorably creepy, sight. However, director Christopher Landon revealed that the murderer almost concealed their identity with a very different mask.

“When I was in early early pre-production [on Happy Death Day], I was trying to figure out what would be that sort of iconic mask. I feel like all great slasher films have that very memorable mask and at the time my partner and I we were pregnant with our first child. I think I had baby on the brain,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “So, I went to our mask designer, Tony Gardner, and I… pitched him actually two things.” The first was the baby; the second, a pig:

“I thought that Tree’s character, she was a bit of a selfish pig, so I thought that could be funny. But when I received the prototype for the baby, I knew that was it. It kind of struck the perfect balance of it being creepy, weird, slightly funny, but ultimately scary. And so it seemed to fit the tone of our movie better than anything else.”)

The pig mask has also been done before in every single Saw movie and, according to the helpful Saw wiki, Saw: The Video Game and Saw II: Flesh & Blood, which is also a video game (there is not a Saw III video game). But if Landon had gone with the pig, a potential lawsuit might have been avoided. TMZ reports that the “guy who created that freaky King Cake Baby character — the New Orleans Pelicans mascot — claims the movie Happy Death Day jacked his freaky face… and now he’s suing to get revenge.”

The man behind the suit is Jonathan Bertuccelli — an artist who created the intentionally weird looking mascot back in 2009… Bertuccelli believes the movie has made more than $200 MILLION in revenue — and he feels entitled to at least 50% of the profits. He also wants a judge to grant an injunction prohibiting the movie producers from using the mask until both sides can work out a deal. (Via)

]]>https://uproxx.com/movies/happy-death-day-killer-baby-mask/feed/1happy death dayYes, It Finally Happened, Donald Trump Made A 69 Joke On Twitter And People Are Losing Ithttps://uproxx.com/viral/donald-trump-69-tweet-nice-reactions/
https://uproxx.com/viral/donald-trump-69-tweet-nice-reactions/#commentsWed, 13 Feb 2019 15:46:45 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401737453

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It’s one of the internet’s most tried and true and dependently amusing memes: responding to the number 69 with “nice.” (If you don’t know why, consult your local Urban Dictionary.) As in, “Did you see that Now That’s What I Call Music! 69debuted at number 32 on the Billboard 200?” “Nice.” Or, back in 2016, when Barack Obama tweeted a graphic noting that 69 percent of “Americans want the Senate to hold hearings and vote on Judge Garland,” guess what the top reply was? Speaking of presidents and the nicest number between 68 and 70…

The Gallup Poll just announced that 69% of our great citizens expect their finances to improve next year, a 16 year high. Nice!

“The Gallup Poll just announced that 69% of our great citizens expect their finances to improve next year, a 16 year high,” tweeted Donald Trump, adding, “Nice!” When a 72-year-old politician is (maybe?) making 69 jokes (“How do you do, fellow meme lovers?“), “nice” is no longer nice — it’s canceled.

Because it’s important to know your history: the first known instance of 69/nice on Twitter was in September 2007, when user Filip Bunkens “congratulated himself about his new follower count.” He told the Daily Dot, “I’m quite astonished that replying nice to 69 has become a trend.” Now here we are, 12 years later, and the president is continuing what Bunkens started. How… nice?

It’s a low bar, but MacGruber is arguably the best movie based on an SNL sketch (the only other contenders are The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World — sorry/not sorry, Stuart Saves His Family). The MacGyver parody, starring Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, and Val Kilmer as the wonderfully-named Dieter von Cunth, didn’t make much of a dent at the box office with a worldwide gross of under $10 million, but it was an instant cult classic, like the Lonely Island’s other comedies, Hot Rod and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

There’s been talk of a sequel, but based on a recent interview with director Jorma Taccone, it sounds like MacGruber would more likely return as a TV show. “We just spent the last two days pitching it as a series. Eight-to-ten episodes. I’m really hoping that when you print this there’s an announcement that it’s actually happening, because I know nothing right now,” he told the Daily Beast. “This is the first time I’ve mentioned it, so this may be a tragic interview.”

It’s not: MacGruber: The Show is picking up steam, as Will Forte confirmed to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that he, along with Taccone and writer John Solomon, pitched the series to “some places.” He then offered a sneak peek, with Fallon playing Vicki St. Elmo and Forte as, of course, MacGruber. Not to spoil anything, but the words “ramming” and “rimming” are brought up. Enjoy!

In this age of constant reboots (does the world need more Gossip Girl? No… but also, yes?), it seems only a matter of time before Harry Potter returns to screens, and I don’t mean Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. While promoting his new TBS series, Miracle Workers, starring Steve Buscemi as God, The Boy Who Lived himself, Daniel Radcliffe, was asked for his feelings on a potential Harry Potter reboot, whether as a TV show or new series of movies.

“I’m sure there will be some other version of it; I know I’m not the last Harry Potter I’m gonna see in my lifetime – we’ve already got a few more,” he told IGN, referring to Jamie Parker and Gareth Reeves in the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage-play. Don’t forget (a very distracted) Rachel Dratch on SNL:

“It will be interesting to see how long those films stay… it feels like there’s a sacredness around them at the moment, but that’ll go, the shine will wear off at some point. It’ll be interesting if they reboot them and just do the films again or do a series; I’m fascinated to watch.”

If there WAS to be a show set in the massive Harry Potter universe, Radcliffe hopes it would follow the Marauders, the mischief-making group composed of Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and Harry’s dad James Potter.

“A series with the older generation, that could be very cool,” he said.

]]>https://uproxx.com/movies/harry-potter-reboot-daniel-radcliffe/feed/0harry potterDanny Boyle’s ‘Yesterday’ Trailer Takes Place In A World Where The Beatles Never Existedhttps://uproxx.com/movies/yesterday-trailer-beatles-danny-boyle/
https://uproxx.com/movies/yesterday-trailer-beatles-danny-boyle/#commentsTue, 12 Feb 2019 16:41:27 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401735879

The Beatles are the most famous band of all-time, with 20 number-one hits in the United States and 800 million albums sold worldwide. But what if John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr (and, uh, Pete Best, I guess?) never existed. That’s the premise of Danny Boyle’s new movie Yesterday, about an unknown singer-songwriter named Jack Malik who gets hit by a bus and wakes up to a world where no one has heard of the Beatles. So, naturally, he pretends he wrote “Let It Be,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and “Hey Jude.” Hopefully Jack passed on taking credit for “Sun King,” though.

Here’s the official plot synopsis.

Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a struggling singer-songwriter in a tiny English seaside town whose dreams of fame are rapidly fading, despite the fierce devotion and support of his childhood best friend, Ellie (Lily James). Then, after a freak bus accident during a mysterious global blackout, Jack wakes up to discover that The Beatles have never existed… and he finds himself with a very complicated problem, indeed. Performing songs by the greatest band in history to a world that has never heard them, and with a little help from his American agent, Debra (Kate McKinnon), Jack’s fame explodes. But as his star rises, he risks losing Ellie, the one person who always believed in him. With the door between his old life and his new closing, Jack will need to get back to where he once belonged and prove that all you need is love.

Before the Fyre Festival became a shared cultural moment that we’ll tell our grandkids about (it’s our M*A*S*H finale), Seth Rogen and the Lonely Island’s Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone were already working on a movie about a disastrous music festival. “This seems like a good time to mention the movie we are making with @thelonelyisland about a music festival that goes HORRIBLY WRONG,” The Lion King star tweeted while the internet was captivated by a photo of a cheese sandwich. (“For real, thinking about suing #FyreFestival for stealing our idea,” the Lonely Island added.) We haven’t heard much about the movie since 2017, but in an interview with the Daily Beast, Taccone confirmed they’re still working on it, and that it might feature the blowjob, er, breakout (and reality show?) star of Netflix’s Fyre documentary.

“I don’t want to divulge all the details but we’re figuring it out right now. You’ve seen the docs, right? It’s crazy. This is something that Akiva and Seth cooked up, and we’re figuring it all out right now,” the Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping co-writer and -director said, adding that when he saw Andy King, “I was like, I would hire that dude for anything… That guy is a champion.”

There were rumors that the title for Star Wars: Episode IX was going to be unveiled last week after Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) tweeted, “I am receiving images of something amazing coming towards us – travelling over decades through space and time – reaching out to all humans on this planet with its message. What could it be? Should I be afraid? Should you? Stay tuned.” Fans have stayed tuned, and after more cryptic tweets, the best guess is that Daniels is teasing his trip to Star Wars Celebration (April 11-15 in Chicago), which is where the title and maybe a trailer will hopefully (finally) be revealed.

The Episode IX title is one of pop culture’s most closely-guarded secrets — in fact, according to Dominic Monaghan, there’s only one person who knows it. During a Q&A session on Instagram, the Lost star (who has an undisclosed role in Episode IX) was asked to “pretty please” divulge the film’s title. “Only [J.J. Abrams] knows,” Monaghan replied. “It’s good to have secrets on Star Wars.”

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If only Abrams was friends with Sophie Turner. Then he’d know the Episode IX title and how Game of Thrones ends. Disney’s silence about Star Wars hasn’t stopped fans from predicting what the movie will be called. The current top-guesses are A Spark of Hope (yeesh), The Last Hope (not bad), and Balance of the Force (the best yet). I’m still rooting for Watto’s Revenge, but that’s just me.

The first time we saw Will Smith as the Genie from Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin, it was on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, where he was “rockin’ the top knit ponytail vibes.” Perhaps knowing that a controversy would follow, the Suicide Squad star wrote on his Instagram, “Yes, I’m gonna be BLUE… This is how the Genie is in Human / Disguise Form. My character will be CGI most of the movie.” Can we go back to that simpler day, before Smith blue himself?

I'm almost ALWAYS in the 'if you don't like it don't watch it' / 'you're not the intended audience for kids' movie remakes' camp, but good lord, that Will Smith genie looks like Dr. Manhattan banged Shrek.

In less ogre-y news, Smith said he took on the role after he realized that Robin Williams, who voiced the Genie in Disney’s 1992 original (and again in Aladdin and the King of Thieves), “infused the character with a timeless version of himself.” That opened up possibilities “to really say and do anything, so I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different and just the flavor of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane.”

The Whisperers are a threat unlike any other we’ve seen over nine seasons of The Walking Dead. They’re the most disgusting, yes, but also, they’re the “most formidable group we’ve come across because they have the power of zombies behind them.” That’s what showrunner Angela Kang told journalists from various publications, including Uproxx, who visited the set of The Walking Dead last fall. The Whisperers hype was embargoed until the season 9b premiere, but now that Alpha (played by Samantha Morton) is here, anything goes.

“I’m really excited for the people who don’t know the story to hopefully see the twists unfold,” said Kang. “I’m really excited about the cast we have, Samantha Morton and Ryan Hurst as Alpha and Beta. I just think they’ve brought so much energy and intensity already to the process, like, in such a great way.”

Director and makeup effects master Greg Nicotero thinks the Whisperers have a “very unique perspective” for how “they’ve abandoned the way of life that we all believe in. It’s interesting, when you think about Walking Dead and you think about the fact that they’re fighting desperately to preserve society. And at some point it’s like, that society that we knew probably will never exist again. What is the next order?” He also discussed the inspiration for the Whisperers’ dead-skin looks (and why he didn’t want them to look like another iconic horror villain):

“It’s tricky, because the way they were drawn in the comic books, they were trying to emulate that sort of sagging skin, so they all looked melted … And I was like, ‘I don’t want them to look melted and I don’t want it to look like Leatherface either.’ The trick is, you got to preserve the bone structure of the skull, even though theoretically the bone structure wouldn’t be there because they’re flaying the skin off. But when you look at the masks, you can see that we maintained the deep eye sockets, because I wanted the brow to stick out enough to put a shadow over the eyes, so when you look at the faces, everything’s in shadow so you get nothing there. I wanted to over-texture everything, so all the sculptures are really over textured and really shriveled looking and a lot of rot and decay.”

The Walking Dead airs (almost) every Sunday on AMC.

]]>https://uproxx.com/hitfix/walking-dead-whisperers-set-visit/feed/0alphaheader.jpgKevin Smith Is Writing A Show For Hulu Based On One Of Marvel’s Most Unusual Charactershttps://uproxx.com/hitfix/howard-the-duck-show-kevin-smith-hulu/
https://uproxx.com/hitfix/howard-the-duck-show-kevin-smith-hulu/#commentsMon, 11 Feb 2019 17:49:28 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401733787

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Break out your finest duck condom: Howard the Duck is getting his own animated series. The ill-tempered waterfowl, who made his Marvel Comics debut in 1973 (he got his own title three years later), has gone from a Razzie Award-winning punching bag to an unlikely cult icon, thanks to an genuinely ironic (or ironically genuine) appreciation of the George Lucas-produced 1986 movie bearing his name and cameos in both Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Now, Hulu and Marvel Television are making a Howard the Duck animated series, written by Clerks director Kevin Smith:

In the series, Howard the Duck is trapped in a world he never made, but America’s favorite fighting fowl hopes to return home with the help of his unstoppable gal pal Beverly before the evil Dr. Bong can turn him the crispiest dish on the menu… Howard the Duck will be written and executive produced by Kevin Smith and Dave Willis. Smith is known for his Askewniverse films, including Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. Smith has also written for Marvel Comics in the past, writing for popular characters like Daredevil and Spider-Man. Willis previously co-created animated shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Squidbillies for Adult Swim in addition to his work as a voice actor.

Smith has finally fulfilled his life-long dream: writing for a show with a character named Dr. Bong. Also in production are animated series based on M.O.D.O.K, Hit-Monkey, and Tigra and Dazzler, who will all team up with Howard the Duck in a special dubbed The Offenders. Hit-Monkey isn’t a name-brand character for Marvel, but neither was Howard the Duck (or the Guardians of the Galaxy, for that matter) at one point. Before long, he’ll have his own kick-ass song, too.

The first episode of Game of Thrones, the one that aired on April 17, 2011, is not the original pilot. That has never seen the light of the day, due to it being a “piece of sh*t” and a “deeply humiliating [and] painful experience.” (After co-showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss showed the episode to their friend Craig Mazin, his first note was, “You guys have a massive problem.”) There is evidence of the pilot’s existence, though: it’s housed at Texas A&M’s Cushing Memorial Library, where author George R.R. Martin donated his manuscripts. The Huffington Postrecently tracked down the production draft of the pilot and noted the major differences between the “piece of sh*t” episode (directed by Academy Award-winner Tom McCarthy!) and the one that premiered on HBO.

In the Cushing script, Dany has a lot more control [during her sex scene with Khal Drogo]. She smiles when she realizes Drogo can say only the word “no” in her language, she helps him take rings out of his hair and, most important, she ultimately consents to sex… This is far from the scene that aired on HBO, in which she cries as he undresses her, then has sex with her from behind.

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Jaime and Cersei’s sex scene was also framed differently (one of the biggest criticisms of the original pilot is that no one realized they were brother and sister), with Cersei objecting to Jaime after she sees Bran in the window in the version that made it to air, while in the original script, “she protests much sooner.” Meanwhile, in the Cushing draft, Jon Snow gets drunk (he “loses his balance and and lurches into the Serving Girl, sending a flagon of wine crashing to the floor”), and Joffrey, who we don’t learn is an insufferable twat until episode two, is immediately a whiny jerk, complaining that he’s “tired of swatting at Starks with a play sword.” Also, the White Walkers wouldn’t shut the heck up:

“I came up with basically some dialogue” [said Game of Thrones language creator David Peterson]. “I recorded it, and then I suggested to them, ‘Here’s how you might modify it digitally to give it a unique sound. It didn’t get used for the pilot, and then there was discussion they were thinking about using it in season two. They said they tried it, and it just wasn’t working out, so they abandoned the idea.”)

For more on the original pilot — which starred Jennifer Ehle and Tamzin Merchant, not Michelle Fairley and Emilia Clarke, as Catelyn Stark and Daenerys Targaryen (oops) — head here.

While promoting The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Chris Pratt recently dropped by The Late Show, where he discussed his Bible-inspired Daniel Fast, a “21-day diet during which he ate only fruits, vegetables, grains, and unleavened bread.” The Parks and Recreation star also quoted his pastor to Stephen Colbert, saying, “If the spotlight that is shining on you is brighter than the light that’s within you, it will kill you.” Well, the spotlight’s on him now, after Ellen Page tweeted that Pratt attends a church that’s “infamously anti lgbtq.”

Pratt (along with Kendall and Kylie Jenner and Justin Bieber, among other celebrities) goes to Hillsong Church, which claims to welcome “ALL people,” but “we do not affirm a gay lifestyle and because of this we do not knowingly have actively gay people in positions of leadership, either paid or unpaid.” Via The Independent:

Hillsong has faced controversy since Carl Lentz, who leads its New York branch, said in 2015 that he believes homosexuality is a sin and that a gay member of the church could never hold a leadership position. That same way, Brian Houston, the church’s global senior pastor, released a statement which criticized two male choir members of the church who had gotten married.

“If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed,” Page, an outspoken member of the LGBTQ community (and who called out Vice President Mike Pence for advocating for “conversion therapy” on The Late Show), later tweeted. “Being anti LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop. Sending love to all.”

If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed. Being anti LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop. Sending love to all

]]>https://uproxx.com/movies/ellen-page-chris-pratt-anti-lgbtq-church/feed/8ellen pageWill Smith Makes His Debut As The Genie In The New ‘Aladdin’ Teaserhttps://uproxx.com/movies/aladdin-trailer-will-smith-genie/
https://uproxx.com/movies/aladdin-trailer-will-smith-genie/#commentsMon, 11 Feb 2019 02:05:00 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401732995

The new Aladdin teaser that debuted during the Grammys had our first look at Will Smith as the blue Genie, a.k.a. the Genie with abs, a.k.a. the Genie Who F*cks. The clip also checked all the boxes we’ve come to expect from Disney’s live-action remakes of animated classics: a familiar score, CGI conversions of hand-drawn designs, and teases of iconic scenes, in this case Aladdin (played by Mena Massoud) grabbing Jasmine’s (Naomi Scott) hand before going on a magic carpet ride to a whole new world. There’s also a parrot, but sadly, he doesn’t sound like Gilbert Gottfried. Not yet, at least. There’s still time.

Watch it above. Here’s the official plot synopsis.

A thrilling and vibrant live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic, Aladdin is the exciting tale of the charming street rat Aladdin, the courageous and self-determined Princess Jasmine and the Genie who may be the key to their future. Directed by Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes), who brings his singular flair for fast-paced, visceral action to the fictitious port city of Agrabah, Aladdin is written by John August and Ritchie based on Disney’s Aladdin.

Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige once called Captain Marvel “as powerful a character as we’ve ever put in a movie.” That’s high praise, considering the MCU employs a green giant, the god of thunder, and a talking raccoon (hey, when’s the last time YOU saw a raccoon talk?). Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo agree with Feige’s praise, and while they were working on the sequel to Infinity War, it was a worry of theirs that she might be too powerful. If Captain Marvel instantly wiped out Thanos, well, that’s not very compelling, or enough material to fill out a three-hour movie, for better or worse.

“It’s always a concern of ours about overpowering characters, because the reason that people relate to these characters is their humanity, and that they’re flawed,” Joe Russo told Cinemablend. “And the reason we love working so much with Captain America was that he was limited, and his heart was his superpower, you know? So we’re all acutely aware of the dangers of having an overly powerful character. [But] we found a thoughtful way through it.”

Captain America’s superpower being his “heart” is as corny as Jay-Z rapping his Achilles’ heel is love in “Monster,” which is why it’s perfect for bleeds-red-white-and-blue Cap. Anyway, Anthony Russo added that “when you do have powerful characters, you have to work that much harder to find their vulnerabilities and complexities.” Good storytelling needs tension, and “that makes for great drama, and you run in that direction. As storytellers, that’s been one of the most fun things we’ve had working with these characters is figuring out ways into them where they are vulnerable and they aren’t all powerful.”

The one constant through every Chucky movie, from Child’s Play to 2017’s Cult of Chucky, is Don Mancini. (Also, Chucky, but duh.) So, it takes a minute to process the fact that the creator, writer, and occasional director has no involvement with Child’s Play, a “reimagining” of the 1988 original starring Gabriel Bateman, Aubrey Plaza (as a concerned mom, which is just weird), Brian Tyree Henry, and one mischievous, knife-wielding redheaded doll.

“Obviously my feelings were hurt,” Mancini said about the new Child’s Play. “You know, I had just done two movies… forgive me if I sound defensive, [they] were both at 83 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Even though they didn’t get theatrical releases, they were well regarded. And I did create the character and nurture the franchise for three fucking decades.” Instead, the remake was overseen by writer Tyler Burton Smith and Norwegian director Lars Klevberg.

Chucky isn’t throwing out one-liners in the trailer above (“What would Martha Stewart say?”), but it still has a playful tone set to “Best Friend” by Harry Nilsson (who, between this and Russian Doll, is having quite the year). And although you never see the doll, he looks quite different than in Mancini’s films.

orion

Never trust a doll with dead eyes. Anyway, Child’s Play comes out June 21, the same day as Toy Story 4, which is excellent counter-programming.

If you watched the new Pet Sematary trailer that was released yesterday and have seen the original movie and/or read Stephen King’s novel, you probably noticed something was different: it’s not young Gage who’s hit and killed by a speeding truck (and later returns from the dead), it’s his older sister Ellie.

The film’s directors, Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, made the change because they wanted to try something new. “Much of how they shot the first [movie] was a doll,” Widmyer told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s creepy and it’s effective. But we’ve now seen Child’s Play and we’ve seen the little kid trying to kill, and it’s effective when done right, but…” Kölsch added, “If you read the book, these are things that are taken right out of it that just didn’t make it into the original movie because they probably couldn’t have a three-year-old do it.”

It’s also, simply put, easier to work with a gradeschooler than a toddler:

“Gage is so young, you can’t really do that much with him,” [producer Lorenzo] di Bonaventura says. “So this way, we’re able to really get underneath our affected child. We’re able to get into the psychological horror of a child [coming back] because of her age.”

This is actually the second age-based tweak in a movie based on one of Stephen King’s works since 2017. “While it’s an important scene, it doesn’t define the book in any way I don’t think and it shouldn’t,” It co-writer Gary Dauberman said about the book’s infamous orgy that was, thankfully, removed from the film. “We know what the intent was of that scene and why he put it in there, and we tried to accomplish what the intent was in a different way.”

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.

No big shocks there — spoiler: Thanos hasn’t changed his name to Mother Shabubu — but two things do jump out: Thanos is no longer referred to as an “intergalactic sociopath” (I’m sure Marvel had a long talk with Netflix about that), and the phrasing “no matter what consequences may be in store” is awfully ominous. As if murdering half the universe wasn’t “devastating” enough…

Avatar is the highest-grossing movie of all-time. This is not new information, and it’s something most people probably already know, but it’s worth mentioning from time to time, because: that’s nuts! It’s not even close, either: Avatar made $2.7 billion at the worldwide box office, followed by Titanic at $2.1 billion and Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Infinity War at slightly over $2 billion a piece. It’s a record that may never be broken, but considering James Cameron directed both Avatar and Titanic (also nuts!), if any movie can do it, it’s going to be Avatar 2. Or Avatar 3. Or Avatar 4. Or Avatar 5.

Then again, considering their wonky titles, maybe not. The BBC reported that the Avatar sequels are currently called Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa. (“Hold my beer, The Scorch Trials,” says The Seed Bearer.) When asked whether there was any truth to the leak, Cameron confirmed the titles were real, for now.

“I can neither confirm nor deny, All right, here’s what I’ll tell ya. Those titles are among titles that are in consideration,” the Alita: Battle Angel writer and producer told ET (if only it was E.T.). “And no final decisions have been made yet.” Cameron knows what he’s doing: the man directed not only Avatar and Titanic, but also The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and True Lies. The only advice he should be listening to is his own, but I’m still going to offer him one piece of guidance: please let one of the sequels to the highest-grossing movie ever be called The Seed Bearer. Thank you.

]]>https://uproxx.com/movies/avatar-sequel-titles-james-cameron/feed/9avatarSteve Buscemi Had The Appropriate Reaction To The Video Of His Face On Jennifer Lawrence’s Bodyhttps://uproxx.com/tv/jennifer-lawrence-steve-buscemi-deepfake/
https://uproxx.com/tv/jennifer-lawrence-steve-buscemi-deepfake/#respondThu, 07 Feb 2019 15:24:38 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401728791

Wikipedia describes Deepfake, a clumsy portmanteau of “deep learning” and “fake,” as “an artificial intelligence-based human image synthesis technique used to combine and superimpose existing images and videos onto source images or videos.” That’s one definition. But I would also accept: the nightmare scenario where Steve Buscemi’s face is on Jennifer Lawrence’s body.

“I’ve gone down a black hole of the latest DeepFakes and this mashup of Steve Buscemi and Jennifer Lawrence is a sight to behold,” tweeted freelance journalist Mikael Thalen, who also discovered Donald Trump-meets-Mr. Bean. But for now, let’s stick with Jennifer Buscemi (Steve Lawrence?), because that’s the combination that was discussed on Wednesday’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with guest… Steve Buscemi! I think his (actual) face says it all.

CBS

“I’ve never looked better,” the Lean on Pete star joked after watching the clip of himself, sort of, answer a question about his favorite Real Housewife at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards (I loved his performance in Joy). When asked whether the clip amused or frightened him, Buscemi responded, “It makes me sad that somebody spent that much time on that, because I bet that was hard to do.” Just wait until the sequel, when it’s his body and Lady Gaga’s face.

But until then, you can watch Buscemi play God (!) in TBS’ Miracle Workers.

Heaven could use a miracle right about now. Miracle Workers, a new series starring Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi, premieres February 12. pic.twitter.com/6qUg6war7w

If you’re unfamiliar with the plot of Pet Sematary, either because you haven’t read the Stephen King book, seen the 1989 movie, or watched the “Marjorine” episode of South Park, maybe you shouldn’t watch the trailer above. It gives away more than it should, and this a movie where the less you know (especially as it relates to one shocking moment), the better. Sometimes dead (and going into a movie, especially a horror movie, blind) is better. For everyone else, though, please enjoy the creepy kids in animal masks and one terrifying cat!

Also, between the nail scene in A Quiet Place and John Lithgow, as Jud Crandall, getting stabbed by a child, I am never taking the stairs again.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed, who, after relocating with his wife Rachel and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall, setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.

Pet Sematary, which also stars Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz, opens on April 5.

Parks and Recreation is awesome. The Lonely Island with Tegan and Sara is awesome. Everything, including The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (which comes out this weekend), is awesome. But the MOST awesome is Chris Pratt covering “Everything is Awesome” from the first Lego Movie as Andy Dwyer from Parks and Recreation. Yes, that’s the same Andy Dwyer who fronted Mouse Rat, formerly Department of Homeland Obscurity, Nothing Rhymes With Orange, Everything Rhymes With Orange, Puppy Pendulum, Possum Pendulum, Penis Pendulum, Handrail Suicide, and Just the Tip (among others).

While promoting The Second Part on The Graham Norton Show, Pratt busted out his acoustic guitar and sang “Everything is Awesome” while sounding like Andy Dwyer impersonating Dave Matthews impersonating Tom Waits. Or as the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom star put it, “Really terrible frat boy rock music.”

Let us never forget the time Andy recapped Sudden Death through song.

Earlier in the week, Pratt also admitted that, yup, Star-Lord is the worst. “I think it’s totally true, and I personally feel the same as everyone else about Star-Lord,” he said about his Avengers: Infinity War character letting his emotions get in the way of stopping Thanos from, y’know, murdering half the universe. “But I know things, okay? And I feel like audiences are gonna be blown away when this next film comes out.” So, what he’s saying is, everything will be awesome?

]]>https://uproxx.com/tv/chris-pratt-everything-is-awesome-parks-and-recreation/feed/02666bdc669721936bc75758e22183bb5.jpg‘Game Of Thrones’ Final Season Character Photos, Ranked By Who Looks The Most Worriedhttps://uproxx.com/hitfix/game-of-thrones-final-season-photos-ranked/
https://uproxx.com/hitfix/game-of-thrones-final-season-photos-ranked/#commentsWed, 06 Feb 2019 20:51:05 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401727828

HBO

Springfield? Never a dull moment (even if you have to deal with the occasional Diaper Mountain or bear tax). Stars Hollow? Nice people, great diner. The Land of Ooo? All the candy you could ever want! Plus, you get to hang out with BMO.

Westeros? Hard pass. As far as fictional worlds go, it seems like a horrible place to live. At least Middle-earth, from Lord of the Rings, has the Shire — all Westeros can offer is deadly weddings, human sacrifices, King’s Landing probably smells putrid (there’s literally a place called Pisswater Bend), and oh yeah, now there’s fire-breathing (ice and regular) dragons roaming the skies.

thank u next. No wonder everyone in the first batch of promo photos from the final season of Game of Thrones appears to be depressed. And frankly, worried. Can you blame them? Season eight is going to be “bloodier” and have “more death… than all the years before,” according to Sophie Turner, and there’s a good chance that many (most?) of our favorite characters won’t survive. So, based on the photos provided by HBO (theories and interviews were not considered), let’s rank them, from least to most worried-looking.

12. Samwell Tarly

HBO

Good ol’ Samwell. He’s probably thinking about libraries, and not that he and Bran are the only people alive who know Jon Snow’s true identity, a piece of knowledge that could crumble a kingdom. But, in this photo, happy libraries.

11. Daenerys Targaryen

HBO

Dany’s had a rough go of it, what with the whole “creepy brother forcing her to marry Aquaman” thing and all the assassination attempts, but she looks mighty chipper now. Maybe it’s because she finally found a lover worthy of the Mother of Dragons, or… nah, it’s not that. Daenerys is probably playing nice to the fine folks of Winterfell — but when she discovers that she and Jon are, oops, related and have committed incest (happens), she’ll quickly zoom into the top-five.

10. Jaime Lannister

HBO

Look at that devilish smirk. Jaime has done a lot of terrible, irremediable things — he shoved a child out of the tall window in the first episode of the show!; also, his name is Jaime, not Jamie — and yet when I see him smile, the whole world smiles with me. Except Bran. Bran probably isn’t smiling, as seen below.

What happens when an Onion Knight, a Know-Nothing bastard, an incestuous sister with a mountainous zombie sidekick, two orphans, and a eunuch walk into a bar? Nothing good, apparently, because they’re in a fourth-place sad tie. (Also, can someone please remake Cheers, but with Davos as Sam Malone and Arya as Carla Tortelli? [Varys enter the bar] “Varys!”)

3. Bran Stark

HBO

What’s the most worried you’ve ever been? Was it your driver’s test? Your wedding day? The day you became a parent? Bran laughs at your pitiful answer, assuming he’s even able to laugh anymore, and raises you: being an all-powerful mystic who can see into the past. That’s a lot of pressure. I feel uneasy checking my Twitter mentions; my dude Bran has gone full Chalamet at the end of Call Me By Your Name. At least he has a real wheelchair now.

Tyrion is THIS CLOSE to revisiting his emo phase. He’s in love, but the object of his affection has found someone else. Also, his sister wants to kill him, he committed patricide via crossbow while his father was on the toilet, and he really needs to comb his hair. Tyrion’s eyes look heavy and sad, and as Varys once said, he’s “one of the few people alive who can make this country a better place.” Characters who can improve Westeros do not have a good track record on Game of Thrones.

Drink some more wine, my worried friend. You’ll need it.

]]>https://uproxx.com/hitfix/game-of-thrones-final-season-photos-ranked/feed/2GOT-grid-uproxx.jpgIt Sure Seems Like Harley Quinn And The Joker Are No Longer Together In ‘Birds Of Prey’https://uproxx.com/hitfix/harley-quinn-joker-breakup-birds-of-prey/
https://uproxx.com/hitfix/harley-quinn-joker-breakup-birds-of-prey/#commentsWed, 06 Feb 2019 18:33:36 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=401727494

Warner Bros.

Among all the Harley Quinn and/or the Joker projects in various stages of development, the most intriguing is undoubtedly Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). The Suicide Squad spin-off, directed by Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs) and written by Christina Hodson (Bumblebee), stars Margot Robbie as the Cupid of Crime who joins forces with a “girl gang,” Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), to protect first-Batgirl Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). But that’s not the most exciting part. This is.

“I’ll be a little busy this week. #BirdsOfPrey #HarleyQuinn & #TheJoker broke up. She has a few new interesting friends. They do NOT like me,” tweeted actor Robert Catrini, who plays Stefano Galante in Birds of Prey, according to his IMDb page. That’s the closest we’ve come to official confirmation that Harley and Joker (Jared “Damaged” Leto) aren’t together anymore after he rescued her from Belle Reve Penitentiary at the end of Suicide Squad, although it’s not a total surprise: set photos have hinted at the breakup (Harley literally crossed “Puddin” out of her life), and she’s sporting a “Bruce” collar in the first-look pic.

Also, the word “Emancipation” is right there in the title, implying that Harley Quinn is free from ever having to visit Hot Topic with the Joker ever again.

Bradley Cooper was nominated for Best Leading Actor at the 91st Academy Awards for his performance as hard-drinking, dog-loving, pop music-hating Jackson Maine in A Star is Born, as most prognosticators, well, prognosticated. It was a mild surprise, however, that he wasn’t also nominated for Best Director; instead, Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman), Paweł Pawlikowski (Cold War), Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite), Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), and Adam McKay (Vice), and notably no women, are competing for the honor. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Cooper admitted that he originally felt “embarrassed” by the snub.

“I’m never surprised about not getting anything. But it’s funny you ask this, because I’ve thought about this,” the first-time director told Winfrey at a taping of her SuperSoul Conversations. “I was with my friend at a coffee shop in New York City, and I looked down at my phone, and [Cooper’s publicist] had texted me congratulations on these other things, but didn’t tell me the bad news. And I went, ‘Oh, wow.’ And the first thing I felt was embarrassment, actually. Think about it. I felt embarrassed that I didn’t do my part.” Eventually, Cooper realized that “even if I got the nomination, it should not give me any sense of whether I did my job or not.” Just ask Spike Lee, who was nominated for Best Director for the first time ever this year. Or again, literally every female filmmaker.

The longest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Avengers: Infinity War at two hours and 40 minutes, followed by Captain America: Civil War (two hours and 27 minutes) and The Avengers (two hours and 23 minutes). If Captain America is involved, it’s probably going to be a long movie. That rule applies to Avengers: Endgame, which currently has a butt-numbing runtime of three hours. It might stay there, too, according to directors Anthony and Joe Russo.

“I think the studio is down with what the best story is,” the Russos said about Disney accepting a three-hour final cut. “We think the movie is playing well and we’ve had great responses from our test audiences and we’re feeling very good about where it is. We’re still doing work to it. We’re not done with it.”

“Again, this is a culmination film of 22 movies, it’s a lot of storytelling to work into it. Emotion is an intrinsic part of that to us. When you have to tell a really complicated story and you want strong emotional moments with the characters, it just requires a certain amount of real estate. This one, in particular, feels like three hours worth of real estate.” (Via)

Four different audiences have seen Endgame, and “for the first three screenings, not a single person got up to go to the bathroom,” Anthony Russo boasted. But what about that final screening? Someone finally had to use the bathroom, or maybe there was a walk-out after Star-Lord screwed up, again.